Reducing Recidivism

Introduction

Recidivism in America is a significant challenge for the criminal justice system, especially in trying to understand the causes of crime, types of crime, crime rates, criminal processing, and the effectiveness of rehabilitation and intervention measures. The measure of recidivism often helps to understand the overall effectiveness of the whole criminal justice system. However, the U.S. rate of recidivism is about 43% annually. A study by the Bureau of Justice and Statistics on recidivism rates of about 400,000 prisoners released between 2005 and 2014 found that about 43% of the total prisoners released in 2005 were rearrested within one year (Alper, Durose & Markman, 2018). Again, only 5% were never rearrested after nine years (Alper, Durose & Markman, 2018). The high rate of recidivism and the low rates of desistance illustrate significant gaps in the criminal justice system. The following essay aims at analyzing and discussing strategies to reduce recidivism rates in America. The paper will analyze the causes of crime, how criminals are processed, how prisoners re-enter into communities, and recommendations for reducing recidivism. Recidivism is a complex issue that can only be reduced or addressed by understanding the causes of crime, criminal processing in courts and corrections, and re-entry into communities.

The Causes of Crime

It is essential to consider the causes of deviant and criminal behavior in order to reduce recidivism rates in America. The causes of crime can be understood through theories that explain what causes one to act violently or through fraud for personal gain. In the biosocial theory, crime results from the interaction of biological functions with different environments (Krohn, Lizotte & Hall, 2009). Issues such as genetics or neuroscience can explain why people often offend based on their different environments and experiences. For instance, as teens grow, they are developing and will tend to conflict with their peers and parents based on their biological process of growth. Teens are more vulnerable to defiant and criminal behavior compared to adults.

Crime can also be explained through the social learning theory. According to Krohn, Lizotte & Hall (2009), people who engage in deviant and criminal behavior by associating with or imitating people who engage in criminal behavior and promote definitions that favor such behaviors. Social learning often occurs from childhood, where children define certain defiant behaviors as favorable through experience or learning from their parents and peers (Krohn, Lizotte & Hall, 2009).

In 1959, the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights o...